Traces
by Whitedraft
Summary: An afternoon in the Game Shop makes Anzu reflect about certain things in the past years. Post-canon


Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi

This is my first try at Yu Gi Oh! Stories, so yeah…

I kinda had this idea after watching the last episode and reading the last chapter of the manga. Hope you'll like it.

_**Traces**_

It is curious how the time passes awfully quickly when you're having fun. How you don't realize its there, until it's time to go home, and you find out you just lost three hours of your life that would never be recovered. It was curious how remembered of sand sneaking through your fingers. Or unless, for Anzu, it was.

She'd always liked to hang out in the old Kame Game Shop, though. Every since she had met and befriend Yuugi, she had always found a little time of her busy agenda to visit the little place, and even had learned to enjoy helping him and Sugoroku put the heavy boxes full of Card decks that the distributors delivered in the cold and wet basement under the store. She had treasured every afternoon Yuugi, Jounouchi, Honda and she had spent there, playing card games, or simply laughing at Jounouchi's ridiculous occurrences. Those days felt so far away right now…

They didn't have to worry about any evil forces anymore, true. They finally had returned to their normal lives. But the memories of everything they had learned in the past years had left a mark in everyone, and that's something Anzu was pretty sure. She didn't believe they would be able to see things the same way anymore, not even a simple card game.

The first thing she noticed when they'd got back from Egypt, after the Pharaoh crossed to the afterlife, was how much Domino City had changed in the meantime. Maybe it had been changing all this time, but she hadn't notice until then. It tended to happen; they were always to busy worrying about their own lives to pay attention to average things like that.

The Pharaoh. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him until a couple of days back. It didn't feel the same. They had learned to care him like a friend, like a part of their group. He was one of the bravest persons Anzu had met, and she promised herself she'd always carry the memories of Atemu in her heart, no matter how many years passed.

She understood, yes, that he was in a better place right now. The place where he belonged. All of them understood; but they couldn't help but fall in an awkward and nostalgic silence every time on of them mentioned something related with him.

She sighed, trying to push away all the nostalgia in her thoughts, and wandered her gaze around the shop. It was completely desert, except for her and her four friends. Yuugi was sitting in the counter, next to where she had rested her elbows, and reviewing every card of his deck over and over. He'd always been a little bit of a control freak in that aspect, thing that always made Anzu chuckle.

In front of them, sitting in one dusty little wooden table, were Jounouchi, Honda and Ryou Bakura. The latter, was trying in vain to teach the two knuckleheads how to play Chess, with a patience she thought was not normal for any human being. The two of them were frowning confused, as Ryou grabbed every little piece of his lustrous and perfectly maintained game board, and proceeded to explain them with detail.

Her gaze fixed upon the white haired teenager. Poor Ryou, it was almost impossible for Anzu to figure out how he managed to keep happy and positive all the time, after all the horrors and tragedy he had lived until now. She was pretty sure, tough, he still had many scars of it, and she wasn't referring only about the circle of tiny stitches he still had in his chest.

She had always liked Ryou, even since the first time they met. He wasn't the kind of guy Anzu would usually hang out with, but there was something in him that made her thought he could one day, be a very good friend. And Anzu could be bossy, over-responsible and obsessive, or even a tomboy; but when you managed to win a spot in her heart, you had earned a loyal friend forever. That was exactly what Jounouchi, Yuugi and Honda had earned, even when they never mentioned it; they knew they could count on Anzu for everything, and that she could count on them too.

They were a team; and now, the team was opening their doors for a new member.

They still couldn't accept the fact that they had let Ryou fight against the spirit on his own. That when he had taken control of Ryou's body again, _they hadn't noticed_, _until it was too late_. They had even apologized to him occasional times, but the only thing he did was smile and a make guest with his arm, saying it didn't matter. But it matter to them, they just hadn't realized how much until now…

"Agh! This game is impossible! Doesn't matter how much I fry my brain, I'll never get it!" Jounouchi suddenly exclaimed upset, slamming his hand firmly against the table, which caused it to tremble a little. This was enough to get Anzu out of her thoughts with a fright.

"Great Jou, now you threw away all the pieces, nice" Honda said with sarcasm, eyeing all the wooden pawns blowing up and landing in the dusty floor.

"Well it's not my fault! This stupid game's impossible! And…"

"Jounouchi!" Anzu snapped at him, crossing her arms severely

He rolled his eyes and lowered his head "…okay. Sorry 'bout the pieces Bakura" he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed

But Ryou didn't say anything and to Anzu's surprise, he just bent over and started to pick the little white and black pieces one by one. Jounouchi and Honda quickly joined him, and in less than a second, the game was settled again

"It's not that difficult once you learn it Jounouchi, it just takes…patience" Ryou explained and grabbed the King between his fingers

"Yeah, _that's_ why you can't play it" Honda mocked his friend

"Shut up of course I can play this crap!" he snapped back, causing Yuugi to giggle "and can you tell me what's so funny Yuug?" he asked raising an eyebrow pissed.

Yuugi smiled openly at him "I'm pretty sure you'll learn how to play it Jou, don't worry. Its just it remembered me the fist time we played Duel Monsters; remember? You weren't very good at it neither"

"Yeah, you totally sucked" Honda joined, earning a punch in the shoulder by Jou "ouch, that hurt!"

"I hope you're getting into a good point with this Yuug" Jou said with narrowed eyes

Yuugi laughed "what I'm trying to say, it's that you practiced and practiced, day and night, and you eventually turned into one of the best duelist around here, didn't you?"

"Yes, that's true, you've improve a lot since then" Ryou nodded smiling

Jounouchi lowered his gaze and scratched his head "well, yeah, I guess…"

Jou couldn't help but remembering Duelist Kingdom. Him, dueling, fighting against all odds, just to pay the surgery for his little sister Shizuka, even when all the possibilities were turned against him. Even when everybody told him to quit. There was_ one_ person who always supported him; Yuugi. His best friend, the guy who had handed over him the prize, even when he had won it honestly. And that was something Jounouchi would always remember.

These memories assaulted Anzu's thoughts too, feeling a sudden pride from his two friends. The two bravest duelists in the whole Island, no doubts. She remembered Yuugi, dueling to save his Grandpa; Jou, dueling to save her sister's sight. Arm by arm, always helping each other.

Why is that always she thought about the Tourney's they have participate in, she always remembered something they were fighting for?

Battle City; Jou dueling to earn the right to duel Yuugi, and then, dueling to save Mai. Yuugi, dueling to save…the world? That sounded a little cliché, yes. But it was true. Yuugi _was_ dueling to save them all; Mai, Jounouchi, Bakura, Malik…

She couldn't help but shiver, when the memory of Mai dueling the other Malik had appeared in her subconscious. The thought of Mai being crushed, tortured; and finally dead…

Anzu had to admit, that in Battle City, she had been _afraid_. Afraid of what might happen to them. Afraid that in the duels, the only thing she could see was darkness surrounded them; and the maddening feeling of being drain of all happiness. When Jou had lost that duel, and had fallen into a Coma, she had felt just…like giving up. Something she'd never done before, something she never felt. But she did, she thought of giving up.

It was Atemu and Yuugi, the ones who made her keep fighting, who made her have unless a little hope. The two of them. Maybe for an outsider, it could have been just the Pharaoh dueling, but for her, she knew perfectly that it was also Yuugi.

She decided to push away those dark memories too, and focused in watch what was happening inside the shop. Ryou had rearrangement all the pieces back in the board, and was now explaining Jounouchi the function of each one all over again. Anzu sighed. Poor Ryou, it was all hopples, doesn't matter how much he explained.

She chuckled, trying to capture that specific moment in her head. That moment would represent for her more than just a simple afternoon with friends, it'd represent everything she wanted from now on. Not tourneys, not adventures, not risks of any kind, just…an average day.

The adventures they'd lived with the Pharaoh had been one in a million, and it would always be treasured inside Anzu's heart and mind. All the things they had learned from him, all the thinks _they_ had teach him. All the joys, all the crying, all the duels…

But as Yuugi had said once; _"our story has just begun"_

From now on, they would have to look forward, they would have to…

"Hey! Anzu! Earth calling Anzu! Are you there?"

"Uh?" She snapped out in a jump, shaking her head violently and looked around, to find Jounouchi waving a hand in front of her. Ryou and Honda were next to him, gazing curiously at her.

"Seriously, it seemed like you were dreaming or something" he added scratching his head

"Yes, are you okay?" Yuugi asked puzzled, still sitting in the counter

She looked at them again, the same picture she had been watching before, and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking, Jou; that you should learn how to play Chess. After all, it would be nice if we have other tourneys to enter in besides Duel Monsters'"

THE END


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